Voting apparatus for use with balls.



PATENT ED -APR..28, 1903.

No. 726,452. W. T. ODHNBR.

VOTING APPARATUS FOR USE WITH BALLS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 10, 1902.

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No. 726,452. PATENTED APR. 2a, 1903.

W. T. ODHNER.

VOTING APPARATUS FOR USE WITH BALLS.

APPLIUATION FILE D DEC. 10, 1902. I0 IODEL. 2 BHBETSSHBET 2.

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XVILLGODT T. ODHNER, OF ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA.

VOTENG APPARATUS FOR USE WITH BALLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,452, dated April 28, 1903.

Application filed December 10,1902. Serial No. 134,696. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, WILLeoDr T. ()DHNER, manufacturer, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, residing atNo.4 Tarakanoffski Per, St. Petersburg, in the Empire of Bussia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Voting Apparatus for Use with Balls, of which the followingis a specification.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for voting or balloting purposes, and has the object of insuring a perfectly secret and accurate balloting for one or more candidates or for voting onquestions by means of ballot-balls, while the counting of the balls after the ballot is considerably simplified.

According to this invention the balls are delivered singly onto a support or the like, which can only contain one ball at a time and is provided with movable members. By mov ing one or the other member of this support by the hand of the person voting aball is guided in one or the other direction to the respective receiving-receptacle, which is destined to collect the balls for the particular candidate voted for by the voter. The collectingreceptacles preferably are provided with zigzag slautingchannels, each of a determined length, adapted to receive the balls and to facilitate the counting of the latter. Before the election the balls are preferably collected in a receptacle, from which they are successively delivered in front of a slide or the like by gliding down an oblique or spiral surface. Upon each operation of the slide one ball is delivered from the slide to its receptacle. During this motion the ball strikes a signaling device, thus producing a sound each time a ball passes into its receptacle.

In order to make myinvention more clear, I refer to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout the several views, and in which- Figure l is a front view of my improved apparatus, the receiving-receptacles being removed. Fig. 2 is a side View of the apparatus, partly in section. Fig. 3 is an upper View of the receiving-receptacles with some neighboring parts. Fig. a is a front view of the receiving-receptacles moved away from one another. Fig. 5 is a modified form of lever, which will duly be referred to hereinafter; and Fig. 6 is another modification, which will also duly be referred to.

The balloting-balls are before the election collected in a receptacle a. In this receptacle is arranged a hollow cylinder 12, with an outside spiraltrack 0, along which the balls roll in downward direction and are delivered in front of a slide d. A check-springe is arranged on the outside of the receptacle in front of an opening f. As soon as the balls situated in front of the slide are advanced by the slide operated by the voter the spring 6 gives way, whereby the foremost ball is thrown forward on the movable support. Upon operation of the latter the ball is delivered to its collecting-receptacle. On its Way the ball strikes a bell g, secured to the frame 72, in order to indicate audibly that avote has been given and recorded.

The device, mounted on the frame h,which serves as a guide'for the ball, consists of two pivoted arms 1 m, the ends 1' it of which extend through slots in the frame. By the lateral motion of one of the levers-for instance, see the position of this lever shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1the end :k of the lever partly supporting the ball is moved away laterally. Thereupon the ball drops toward that side in a downward direction and rolls along an inclined surface 7 of the frame It into its collecting-receptacle 07.. By operating the lever Z the ball would. be delivered into the receptacle'o. Springs are connected to the levers 'l min order to return the latter to their initial positions. To insure the accurate guiding of the ball into the correct collecting-receptacle, the frame It is provided beneath the supporting crotch formed by the ends 11 7c of the supportingarms Z on with a roof-shaped deflector or ridge q. The levers, as well as the ball-supports, are preferably arranged in a casing 8, whereby the operation-of the levers is rendered invisible.

The collecting receptacles have downweirdly-slanting channels t of determined length arranged in superposition, each being adapted, for instance, to hold ten balls. The balls roll along the channels down to the lowermost channel, which thus gradually becomes filled, and then to the next higher one,

and so on. After the election the receptacles are opened (see the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3) and immediately show, owing to the form and arrangement of the passages, the number of votes given to each candidate. (See Fig. 4.)

The construction of the ball-support, as well as the motion of its mechanism, can of course be greatly modified. For instance, a bell-crank lever 50, Fig. 5, may be used, which must be depressed in order to move its upper end laterally out of the path of the ball, or the fingers may be on rods 12, Fig. 6, one of which must be depressed, so as to allow the ball to drop into the desired collector. Springs to move the rods back to their normal position.

Having now described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is- 1. In a voting apparatus for use with balls, the combination with receivers for the balls after the voting, of passages leading from a common place to the various receivers; checking parts adapted together to form a support for a ball over said place and corresponding in number to the receivers; and means for moving either one of said parts so as to cause the retained ball to drop into the passage leading to the intended receiver, as set forth.

2. In a voting apparatus for use with balls, the combination with receivers for the balls after the voting, of passages leading from a common placeto the various receivers; a pair of checking parts adapted in conjunction to support a ball over said place and corresponding in number to the receivers; means for moving either one of said parts so as to cause the retained ball to drop into the passage leading to the intended receiver, and means for replacing the dropped ball by another one, as set forth.

3. Ina voting apparatus for use with balls, the combination with a container for the balls, of a plurality of receivers for the balls after the voting; passages leading from a common place to the various receivers; a passage leading from the container to said common place; adjacent checking parts adapted in conjunction to support a ball over said place and corresponding in number to said receivers; means for moving either one of said parts so as to cause the retained ball to drop into the passage leading to the intended receiver, and means for transporting another ball from the container upon said checking parts, as set forth.

4. In a voting apparatus for use with balls, the combination with receivers for the balls after the voting, of passages leading from a common place to the various receivers; levers having beveled checking endst' 7c adapted to.

form a crotch to support a ball over said place, and corresponding in number to the Various receivers; and means for replacing that ball after the retained one has been caused to drop and to pass into the intended receiver, as set forth.

5. In a voting apparatus for use with balls, the combination with receivers for the balls after the voting, of passages leading from a common place to the various receivers; laterally-movable levers having beveled upwardextending checking ends 2' 7c adapted to support in the crotch between them a ball over said place, and corresponding in number to the various receivers; aboveled projection q under the crotch formed by the checking ends adapted to direct the ball to a definitive passage after the ball has been caused to drop by one of the checking-levers having been pushed aside; and means for replacing that ball by another one, as set forth.

6. In a voting apparatus for use with balls, the combination with receiving-receptacles having superposed alternately-connected oblique channels of equal length, of which the alternating ones are inclined to opposite sides, of passages leading from a common place to the various receptacles; checking parts adapted to retain a ball over said place and corresponding in number to the receivers; and means for moving either one of said parts so as to cause the retained ball to drop into the passage leading to the intended receiver, as

set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

WILLGOD'I T. ODHNER.

Witnesses:

H. A. LOVIAGUINE, E. W. LOURY. 

